Much of the research on leadership development focuses on the
individual who already is in a leadership role. But what would
happen if the focus was on those in pre-management roles and helped
leverage their development for future management and leadership
opportunities?
Leaders who keep learning may be the ultimate source of sustainable
competitive advantage. Increasingly, programs that focus on
developing future leaders are seen as a source of competitive
advantage (Hallowell, 1999).
Xerox Capital Services, the administrative arm of Xerox North
America Sales and a joint venture under majority ownership by GE,
created the Associate Development Program to identify and maximize
the company's talent with the objectives of:
- retaining high-potential employees
- developing bench strength of future leaders
- providing much-needed development opportunities.
Leader as Communicator
By better developing future leaders as communicators, and enhancing
competencies around listening, writing, and presenting, leaders are
more adequately prepared for their future assignments.
Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the direct
result of people failing to communicate, and leaders failing to
understand this premise. Studying the communication process is
important because you coach, coordinate, counsel, evaluate, and
supervise through this process. It is the chain of understanding
that integrates the members of an organization from top to bottom,
bottom to top, and side to side.
An old Chinese proverb states: "From listening comes wisdom, and
from speaking repentance." Numerous managerial functions require
effective listening. All data necessary for strategic planning,
effective decision making, and dealing successfully with personnel
issues come through listening to co-workers, subordinates,
superiors, and customers.
A study by the National Commission on Writing concluded that
one-third of employees in the nation's blue-chip companies wrote
poorly and that businesses were spending as much as $3.1 billion
annually on remedial training. The problem shows up not only in
e-mail, but also in reports and other texts (Dillon, 2004).
Making effective presentations to groups or key individuals is a
regular part of an executive's job. Delivering a clear,
understandable message that gains the support of the listeners
obviously requires expertise in public speaking. Development
programs that focus on enhancing a future leader's awareness of the
audience, as well as increasing their confidence and ability in
preparing and delivering presentations, benefit the organization as
a whole.
Identifying Competencies
Now back to the Xerox case. Using the annual talent-management
process, high-potential, high-performing employees were identified
as participants in the Associate Development Program.
Core leadership competencies were developed based on research by GE
on leadership traits and on the existing GE values. Those
competencies were confirmed against research conducted by the
Lominger Group and subject-matter experts in the multi-rater
feedback process to validate competencies that could meet today's
business demands and be supported by the business's vision and
values.
After identifying and confirming 12 core competencies, modules were
created to develop those competencies in an accelerated program
with 20 participants. Interestingly, the majority of the sessions
fell into the communication arena: listening skills, business
writing, presentation skills, and leadership and communication.
Rolling out the Program
A special kick-off meeting introduced participants to one another,
reviewed the syllabus for the next 12 weeks, answered questions,
and distributed special logo items as keepsakes.
To retain learning throughout the 12 weeks, the first session on
leadership styles sets the tone for development. In addition to an
instructor-led session identifying Myers-Briggs preference and
Johari window for openness to exposure and feedback, participants
completed many assessments on their own time. The participants
discussed their leadership styles at the end of the 12-week
program.
Measuring Success
Each session was individually evaluated for the relevancy of the
course to the participant's development and future growth. In all
cases, a 90 percent satisfied or highly satisfied rating was
achieved. An assessment conducted mid-way through the program and
at the end of the program evaluates employee engagement levels and
future retention rates with the business.
Within 18 months, 61 participants graduated in three waves through
the program and 15 percent were promoted, 2 percent took lateral
moves in the organization, and 6 percent were assigned to special
projects or rotational assignments because of their leadership
skills.
In addition, 47 percent reconsidered going back to school for more
formal education, 74 percent shared learnings with their managers
or team members, and almost 70 percent said that it had increased
their self-confidence. In addition, costs were maintained by
providing this program at a $500 investment per participant.
On a more qualitative note, many managers provided feedback that
ADP participants regularly shared insights from each session with
them. This resulted in taking some of the modules and developing
more extensive leadership-development sessions for the first-line
manager audience.
Employee Engagement
Results showed that 100 percent of the participants were interested
in remaining with the organization, looking forward to future
opportunities in people or project management, and said they would
recommend this development opportunity to their peers who have a
desire for career advancement.
Comments directly from the participants themselves indicate that
"the impact from this program will result in better performance and
great leadership." Another participant commented that "the
leadership styles session helped me to interact better with my
team, which increased effective communication to reach our
month-end goals."
Not only did the program receive internal recognition, but it also
was internationally recognized for distinction in excellence in
leadership communication in Melcrum Publishing's Strategic
Communication Management Business Performance Awards for 2005. This
category recognized that leaders and line managers with strong
communication skills are far better equipped to encourage that
valuable discretionary effort that comes from employees who
understand what the business is trying to achieve, and feel engaged
and motivated to deliver it. In this category, the program was
recognized for developing an effective leadership
communication/coaching program.